Category Archives: MODULE 3

Module 3 – Post 5

IndigeSTEAM

This program is an Indigenous led program that is culturally significant to Indigenous Youth. It uses the http://www.integrativescience.ca/Principles/TwoEyedSeeing/ principles to guide STEAM practice. It’s an organization that is providing an inclusive environment around STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Agriculture and Mathematics).

There focus looks at three different ways to engage youth. These are: Power to Choose, Pathways for Choice, and Partnership with the Community. When exploring this resource it makes me wonder what aspects could we integrate into a MAKERspace? Is this culturally relevant for settlers to use these projects to engage other students. I think everyone would need to be mindful of what should be shared with other students.

I think schools could use many of the same philosophies of providing choice, helping Indigenous youth or other cultures share their expertise in disciplines or projects that may not exist in regular school subjects and inviting community members such as Elders to provide their voice and knowledge to a project.

When we consider STEAM I think it is important to recognize the materials we use are land-based and that innovative ideas have been used by Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years.

If you are looking to more learn visit https://www.indigesteam.ca/ 

 

Module 3 – Post 4

USAY AR & VR Experiences

How can we use immersive experiences to learn from the land? This interactive tool on Treaty 7 land provides visitors with the opportunity to embrace our past. This valuable resource from USAY is something that students can begin to see the relevance of how digital tools can be empowering. USAY stands for Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth. These storytelling experiences are designed and shared by Indigenous youth. The best aspect of these tours is that they are local and Indigenous youth designed the experiences with Knowledge Keepers and Elders. This also ensures the authentic voices of community members were used. Every experience always has the opportunity to engage more community members so these experiences are a starting point to educate others on Treaty 7 land.

I find these resources valuable because it provides everyday settlers with the information of the stories of the land but it also provides Indigenous community members with the information to reconnect to the histories and past they have lost.

This tool would be a wonderful provocation to encourage students to share their own stories or background through VR. Students can use their own phones or devices to use applications like Google Street View with Google Sites to design their own engaging story to share with others.

I have explored these different IndigiTRAILS with Elders and the their responses have always been positive and uplighting when they experience the Indigitrails. Technology can be a tool used to bridge our past with our present day stories.

Module 3 (Post 1) – Indigenous Connections to the Northeast Swale

The Meewasin Valley Authority is a non-profit organization that cares for the South Saskatchewan River valley and natural areas in and around Saskatoon, SK. The group has recently introduced a new resource to help secondary (grades 9-12) teachers engage in place-based education with their students at one of the city’s conservation areas. I was particularly excited about this as I was involved with a bioblitz that brought elementary school children to the swale for tours, exploration, and pond-dipping activities. The swale is an interesting landscape that was once part of the river valley many years ago and is home to a number of wildlife species and even some rare prairie plants.

From the site:

‘These new digital resources create curriculum connections to a section of content in the Meewasin App called “Indigenous Connections to the Northeast Swale” as well as physical interpretive panels located at this site. They also include links to a variety of other content and have been designed to encourage teachers and students to take part in land-based activities throughout the Meewasin Valley with a focus on Treaty Outcomes, Arts Education, Social Studies, History, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Science & Health Science.’

Module 3 – Post 3

Minecraft Education

Minecraft Education has evolved to become more inclusive. One storytelling feature that has become known is the Indigenous world where it can be cloned to share oral storytelling. This world did made me reflect on whether this is a world students should contribute too or should they just navigate the worlds with the understanding of being culturally appropriate. Here is the world that students can access: Minecraft Education https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/challenges/indigenous-stories

Another world that has been designed is https://education.minecraft.net/en-us/lessons/manito-ahbee-aki “The Manito Ahbee Aki” this world is about the Anishinaabe culture. This world was in collaboration with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous Educators, and Minecraft Education. After our research and knowledge we have gained in this class I do question whether students should share stories of Indigenous Peoples. I often wonder is it their story to tell? How can students use these worlds in a meaningful manner? I think it can provide an inclusive lens for Indigenous students to see themselves in a Minecraft world being represented. Here are three co-taught lessons to understand how to navigate these worlds. Minecraft is a digital platform that can transform digital storytelling or provide a maker activity for students. This tool can be accessed using chromebooks. This digital platform does provide a more equal opportunity for student learners.

Module 3 – Post 2

Digital Stories

This resource is valuable to show how digital stories can be impactful for student learning https://www.metisvoices.ca/the-stories .These stories were designed to make students and teachers critically think about Métis history.

When you listen to the different Indigenous storytellers https://www.metisvoices.ca/story-1 they make you reflect and connect to their past stories. The first story is from Dr. Yvonne Poitras Pratt who shares her personal journey to understanding her past. What helps to make this more insightful is how these digital stories ask questions to make viewers reflect: “We invite you to watch the following digital story twice; once for first reactions and again to gain insight.’ They also are designed and recorded with authentic voices.

This resource shows the importance of designing intentional stories with guiding questions. When students are given the opportunity digital storytelling can provide all students with the ability to amplify their voices. This multimodal communication constructs learning experiences in a purposeful way. Besides this being a relevant resource for my final project it is also important to share for Métis week.

Here is an additional way to create digital stories.

https://earth.google.com/web/@51.03862464,-114.05595265,1046.87123966a,2847.78175514d,35y,119.82206914h,0t,0r/data=CjASLhIgYjU0YWFhNDI2ZTRhMTFlOGFjYjM0ZGJhNDk1NmM3YjQiCnZveV9zcGxhc2g

 

 

 

Module 3 – Post 5 – Analyzing Assessment Practices for Indigenous Students

Evaluation and assessment are essential parts of instructional design to determine if the curriculum, course, module, or training program is meeting the goals and planned outcomes determined in the development phase. Jane Preston and Tim Claypool wrote the article “Analyzing Assessment Practices for Indigenous Students,” and reviews common assessment practices through an Indigenous worldview. According to the literature, it seems assessment practices over the last two decades for Indigenous students have changed very little.

After reading this article I thought about how assessment tools in e-learning authoring tools, such as canvas, articulate, etc. can be limited quizzes and drag-and-drop methods of testing the learner for retention. Since many of those tools are templates, they are the fastest and easiest to use for assessment, but does the fact that these applications default to those methods of assessment reinforce a western knowledge system, even if the e-learning content is meant to be more inclusive of other ways of knowing?

As an example, I’ve included the only options available for evaluation in Articulate 360 RISE. You only have the option of knowledge checks and there are a total of 5 different applications you can use. Additionally, they have a chapter option where you can build a standalone multiple-choice quiz as well.

 

Preston, J. P., & Claypool, T. R. (2021). Analyzing assessment practices for Indigenous students. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6). https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.679972 

Module 3: Post 5: Indigenous Canada – MOOC

This is a Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) offered by the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Native Studies that is comprised of 12 weeks (12 modules). This course discusses Canadian history from an Indigenous perspective and includes many topics: Indigenous world views, legal systems and rights, Indigenous women, political activism, contemporary indigenous life, art and expression. This course was authored by Indigenous educators, elders, storytellers and is open to all.

Link to course and registration: https://www.ualberta.ca/admissions-programs/online-courses/indigenous-canada/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1FBGkr3cJrGLG6NfY6mGUsx9nL3eI-kmYjSkqeXzkUOgakclcqZyHnjOs

Module 3: Post 4: National Aboriginal Council of Midwives

Website: https://indigenousmidwifery.ca/publications/

A part of my research project was to determine how to bridge the gap to access care in the birth experience of Indigenous mothers, and a part of it is to discuss how health care resources can be allocated to these communities so more women can give birth locally and within their communities. I found this website helpful in inspiring Indigenous women to consider Indigenous midwifery. It includes e-books that can be downloaded or ordered. Some examples of e-books or resources that can be accessed are: “Guided by our Ancestors: Indigenous Midwives and Advocacy”, “Stories and Teachings about Pregnancy, Birth and Infant Care”, “Restoring Midwifery and Birth Workbook” to name a few.

Module 3: Post 3: Community TV

http://www.isuma.tv/nitv/nitv-trailer

Isuma TV allows hosts to upload and share multiple media projects and I thought this was a great platform for Nunavut filmography, videos and digital media to be shared globally. There are videos, podcasts, audios and more that can be broadcasted to home viewers at any time. It is also shared in multiple languages, and allows an online platform for the global community to share in the digital storytelling from these communities. Global community members can also comment and upload their own projects and members can interact with one another.

Module 3: Post 2: Indigenous Midwives

I thought this was a really insightful and inspirational webinar wherein the Wilson Center’s Maternal Health Initiative partnered with Indigenous midwives (through International Confederation of Midwives) around the world to discuss the importance of this role in respecting, understanding and shedding light on this role that is sometimes forgotten in health care. This webinar is an example of coming together of many different global communities to advocate and share experiences, despite different geographical circumstances. There is a collective voice to grow Indigenous midwifery around the world. There is enriching discussion around policies that drive practice worldwide, discuss barriers in the communities they are serving and find ways to work as a global community to support each other’s roles and encourage more community members to take on this role to support their communities.